The present invention pertains to pants having a garment shell made of a stretchable material. More particularly, the present invention pertains to boxer briefs having a garment shell made of a stretchable material. The pants may be absorbent or non-absorbent.
Pant-like garments have numerous applications including disposable clothing, training pants, feminine care products, adult incontinence products, disposable swimwear, or the like. Pant-like disposable garments are typically three-dimensional products so that the product has a unitary waist opening and two leg openings. The wearer raises and lowers the garment to apply the product. Three-dimensional, boxer shorts-like or boxer brief products are particularly appealing because the boxer shorts look more like conventional articles of clothes.
Many disposable pants are formed as composite structures in which several components are combined to form a product specifically suited to its intended purpose. For example, disposable pants often include one or more absorbent materials intended to absorb various bodily exudates such as urine, menstrual fluid, bowel movement material, and/or sweat. Such products may include a liquid permeable bodyside liner and a liquid impermeable outer cover, and can include other materials and features such as elastic materials and containment structures.
However, many disposable pants can be aesthetically unappealing. Existing disposable absorbent pants can often be overly bulky and can often resemble disposable baby diapers. Various attempts have been made to provide disposable pants having an improved, more clothing-like appearance.
Furthermore, past consumer research has indicated that discretion is an important product attribute for many consumers, including enuretic children using disposable absorbent products. One component of discretion includes an underwear-like or garment-like appearance for the absorbent product the enuretic child is wearing. Currently, absorbent products available for enuretic children are very similar in appearance to absorbent products used for toilet training.
Thus, what is lacking and needed in the art are garment-like, aesthetically appealing boxer shorts or boxer briefs which provide discretion to the wearer.